What did I missed from Dom I.? -> DIPLOMACY!

[Gandalf Parker]

Originally posted by apoger:

It is my understanding that in Dom II that gateway and other movement spells now only work between labs.

I like seeing more options, not less. A good diplomatic system would do nothing but enhance the game. Players could always turn it off if they didn't like it.

I spoke toward diplomacy early, often, and loudly. It doesnt even have to be extensive. How about if the AI could be affected by gifts and bribes? If Ulm is between me and Ermor then I send him the bags of wine and herald lances he needs to defeat Ermor. I do that now. It would be nice if it put a few points on the side of his NOT deciding to start a war with me.

Im also for more instead of limiting options. Im disturbed to hear that about transport spells. ALL transport spells or just the army ones? If its all of them then it does major damage to some of my favorite strategys for some of my favorite races. Not so much in attacking but in setting up multiple hot-spots all over the map. Scouts find a weak corner, call wind or wild there to take the province, setup castle/lab/temple in a good spot in that area. Rinse and repeat. There are ways to get a mage or priest somewhere besides the early transport spells but it will slow things down terribly for races that already have enough problems (or did in Dom 1)

[ October 15, 2003, 13:17: Message edited by: Gandalf Parker ]

[Taqwus]

Quite a few uses of diplomacy come to mind.

- Allowing free passage through an area. Perhaps only along a path, 'tho, or in specified provinces?

- Requests for assistance. GalCiv's one of the only PC games that I know of in which an AI ally will ask for help when it's in trouble (in contrast to demanding tribute).

- Demands for tribute. Has to be handled carefully; nations which give tribute should not provoke war, and should be entitled to live without further provocation in turn.

- Sharing of map. Partial or whole, hm? The ability to lie here could be amusing, too.

- Sharing of scouting reports, e.g. current estimates of enemy army sizes. "Our scouts report that... Caelum scouts report that..." et al in the province information. Perhaps should have a "we're lying; exaggerate/minimize by this much" slider.

- Gem trading/item trading. An item/gem exchange might be pushing it, 'tho. ("Fire gems up 0.05 to 1.85 Astral, Caulrons of Broth down to 30 Astral, et al"). Heh.

An ongoing gem-trading treaty could help, e.g. every turn A sends a certain set of gems to B in exchange for a similar allotment.

- Perhaps agreements on future targets? e.g. if two nations could both soon conquer a number of independent provinces between them, deciding who takes who to eliminate the chance of accidentally starting a war. This could be supplemented or enforced by a non-aggression pact which would cause mutual withdrawal rather than a battle if they do both attack the same.

Could also be stated as "sphere of influence".

A lot of this might be fairly hard to do, without resorting to the usual "AIs gang up on Humans/main threat" deal. Some of the mechanics would still be helpful for MP, e.g. not having to manually type out army estimates on a shared foe.

[Mortifer]

AI gang up? maybe. All games are different. I mean when you play a game and starting over, the next game will have a different situation, sometimes you can gang up with other AIs, sometimes the AIs will gang up on you, sometimes you won't notice any gang ups.

You have a nice list there. A good diplo system would be awesome. If Illwinter want to add something new, they must think about 2 things:

1. The weapon / armor system
2. The diplomacy system

PS. there was another game, with this AI request when he is in trouble: The good old Romance of the 3 Kingdoms series by KOEI. As I said those games had the best diplo model ever!

[Nagot Gick Fel]

Originally posted by Mortifer:
A good diplo system would be awesome

I think if we just had an option to give provinces to other players, the game would be much more dynamic.

[apoger]

>I think if we just had an option to give provinces to other players, the game would be much more dynamic.

I'd agree with that.

I'd also like to see some sort of non-aggression stance that would allow armies to travel across non-friendly provinces. Armies can already double occupy a province due to stealth, so the functionality is already in the game.

These two things togther could easily form the foundation of a simple diplomatic system that wouldn't be too complicated to implement and would greatly enhance the players options.

[Saber Cherry]

Originally posted by Taqwus:
- Sharing of map. Partial or whole, hm? The ability to lie here could be amusing, too.

- Sharing of scouting reports, e.g. current estimates of enemy army sizes. "Our scouts report that... Caelum scouts report that..." et al in the province information. Perhaps should have a "we're lying; exaggerate/minimize by this much" slider.

- Gem trading/item trading. An item/gem exchange might be pushing it, 'tho. ("Fire gems up 0.05 to 1.85 Astral, Caulrons of Broth down to 30 Astral, et al"). Heh.

Both of these are good. I especially like the global stock exchange... "Blood slaves! Get your young & saucy blood slaves! Free manacles with every order!"

Hahaha... seriously, I like automated trading systems. The one in Earth 2025 (partner game to Utopia) had such a system, where you could put tanks, planes, technology levels, or whatever on the international market - at any price you chose. Any buyer could place an order for tanks (specifying a certain maximum that he would pay) and then he would automatically buy the lowest-priced tanks currently on the market. Supply and demand worked really well there...

-Cherry

[Nerfix]

Lying?
YES!
I want a diplo system where YOU can actualy lie!

The global market idea is also good...

I know this is from old post from usenet, but perhaps having two friendly armies together in same province would cause unrest in the province and detoriate Dominion localy. I can see not-so-few bored soldiers getting themselves drunk and doing things... And you aren't so "tough" god if you let the enemies of the faith to stay in your land, even if the "enemies" would be allies.

Perhaps all non-hostile diplomatic actions could give you a sligth Dominion penalty. Afterall, you are dealing with enemies of the faith.

[ October 15, 2003, 17:58: Message edited by: Nerfix ]